Page 37 of Raze (Riven 3)
There had to be a way, and she had to develop a plan to move forward. She knew they would support anything reasonable because they were also ready to take him down. The mob would also assist if it was at all possible. With so much help, how could she not devise a plan that would work?
“What's wrong? You seem to be thinking so hard," Carler asked.
“You don't think there are enough reasons to be thinking hard? With all our support, it seems incredible that Joe Senior escapes us time after time. Even considering the traitors here, how can they be helping him when he's out there?”
“I see what you mean, but they seem to know what we're trying to do even before we do it. Old Joe's had early warnings on almost every action we've taken. It will hurt him now that this nest of Vipers has been cleaned out.”
“But has it? Has it been cleaned out yet?” Viv asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I'm in the process of writing a list of people that need to be investigated further. Everyone that was hurting our cause was not in security. Security was vetting them and helping them get in, but they are in other areas of the casino and maybe other areas of the country.”
Carler sighed heavily. “We will be getting extra help to track down these people. We use a private investigator. Actually, several, but one of them is visiting right now with some information. He can possibly assist in tracking down some of these people and determine if they were involved. Maybe he can even get some information out of them.”
“Why would they tell us anything?”
“This is not the United States. These people are in a foreign country, and our laws differ from yours. If they are involved in this and they give us no information, they will not be going home any time soon. We've had a jail built, and it is ready. We do not believe in pampering prisoners. They will have to work to have food and any luxuries whatsoever. That is our way. That is why among our own people, there are few criminals.” Sadly, it was found to be less true than he'd originally thought recently, but he didn't tell her that.
“All right. I can see why they would benefit from sharing information. The problem is that some of them fear Old Joe more than you," she offered.
“We will see what we can find out, and we will not worry about that until we are in a position to question someone.”
Viv could see how that was reasonable. Meanwhile, she continued working on her list, and it was growing. She was sure all of these people could not be sent by Joe, but they all needed to be checked out to be sure.
“Would you like to go to lunch with me? It is time, and we both must eat," Carler asked.
“I would be pleased to. Until you said something, I didn't realize it was past lunchtime.” Her stomach rumbled in response.
He held the door open. Viv walked through, and he followed. They went to the elevator, even though she gave it a suspicious look.
“The elevator is working perfectly. We already had a technician check out every elevator in the building," he said.
“Are you a mind reader now?”
“If you could see the look on your face, you would know exactly what it meant, too," he chuckled.
That was possible because everything she had seen lately had made her realize how fragile life was. Most would believe she should have realized that when Doug had died. All that had shown her was how tragic fate could be and how your life hung on the roll of the dice. Lately, she had seen how destructive those dice could be. The image of the completely demolished room kept coming to mind. Something had caused all that damage, and she wasn't sure what it was. A bomb would have knocked the windows out, and they seemed to be the only thing intact in the room.
They exited the elevator and headed into the restaurant best known for serving steak. Carler must have been on the same page and wanted a thick steak. Hopefully, nothing would go wrong here because she also wanted a relaxing meal. The waitress came and took their drink orders, and he ordered an appetizer. She really liked mushrooms, so she was sure she would like them.
Their waitress hurried away to put in the order and get their drinks. Many of the managers, and even some that weren't, drank mixed drinks, beer, or even wine with their meals, but she did not. She needed that extra clarity because Viv never knew what would happen next since she had come here. A clear mind was what she needed the most. That was what would probably save her life someday. She was even rethinking her few drinks when she went on vacation. Not that she planned a vacation anytime soon. Her next vacation would be after Joe's senior was dealt with. It wasn't like she could enjoy a trip anyway as long as Doug and what had happened to him were on her mind.
The waitress was back with their drinks and ready to take their orders. Lately, she has really enjoyed a good medium-rare New York strip. A salad, fried potatoes, and a vegetable medley finished the meal. There was a time when she couldn't eat that much, but her appetite had picked up since she had started here. Viv couldn't imagine why, but maybe it was that the appetite of those around her seemed so great.
Carler usually ordered his steak rare, but that was just too bloody for her. It didn't bother her because she knew different people liked their steak differently. Her mother had liked it so well done that it was often like chewing leather. It had to be that way because the slightest hint of blood would upset her greatly. Her mother and her father did not really want children, and as soon as she was eighteen, they moved to the rainforest of all places. She had not seen them since, nor did she really care to.
Why the rainforest? They were biologists, with her dad studying animals and her mom studying plants. Her mother was looking for a cure for cancer. She had trademarked several medications that helped alleviate and one that actually cured one type of cancer. They were career-minded, and children had no place in their lives. She lived in the rainforest for several years, from when she was a little bit older until she was a teenager. Viv was sure they loved her in their own way, even if they never showed it.
Maybe that was one of the reasons that she had gotten so attached to Doug. He had been loving, constantly hugging, kissing, and touching her. He'd given her all the affection that she had missed growing up. That had made losing him even worse because he had filled in the holes in her heart. Viv glanced over at Carler and wondered what kind of childhood he'd had. Had it made him affectionate, or had it made him somebody who kept a distance? It was too early for her to tell.
All the time she'd been thinking, she had worked on her list and saw it had grown. She didn't believe all of these people were a danger, but she did believe that, as well as slipping people in, they did a lousy job on the other people’s assessments. It amazed her that no one had checked up on these lists and these people to find out if they would do a good job or not. Maybe she'd not done any better because she had an assistant and a secretary, and even though she shared them with others, she'd not really checked into their background or bothered to see what kind of a job they did.
That was something she would get better at. She needed to take the time to get to know them and to look into their backgrounds and resumes. This was something that could be a fatal flaw. It was important to know the people around you at least as well as they allowed you to. Many of these people, especially in upper management, were guarded and did not let you know much about them. Was that just because they were private, or did they have something to hide? That was what they needed to find out.
She had been thinking a lot while she finished her drink and dessert. Looking at Carler, she saw he was done as well.
“We'd best get back to work. The list has been growing. I'm sure they aren't all traitors, but I'm also sure some of them are," Viv assessed.